head to head · open source
NetData vs Microsoft365DSC
NetData has 80,564 GitHub stars, 6,630 forks, 393 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Microsoft365DSC has 2,393 stars, 677 forks, 66 open issues and last shipped yesterday. NetData leads on adoption by 3,267% (80,564 vs 2,393 stars). NetData is written in Go under GPL-3.0; Microsoft365DSC is written in PowerShell under MIT. NetData has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Microsoft365DSC 28%. Microsoft365DSC was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (devops), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| NetData | Microsoft365DSC | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 81K | ★ 2.4K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Go | PowerShell |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.6K | ⑂ 677 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick NetData if
- You weight community size — 81K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Microsoft365DSC if
- You want the Microsoft365DSC feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches PowerShell
- You evaluated both and Microsoft365DSC fits your workflow better
About NetData
Netdata is an open source, real time infrastructure monitoring platform written in Go and released under GPL 3.0, built for operators and lean teams who need per second visibility across Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, and Windows systems.
read the full NetData overview →
About Microsoft365DSC
Microsoft365DSC is a PowerShell Desired State Configuration module that automates the deployment, configuration, extraction, reporting and monitoring of Microsoft 365 tenant settings, and it is built for Microsoft 365 administrators and DevOps teams who want tenant configuration managed as code rather than by hand in individual admin portals.
read the full Microsoft365DSC overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is NetData or Microsoft365DSC more popular?
NetData has 80,564 GitHub stars and Microsoft365DSC has 2,393. NetData has the larger community by that measure.
Are NetData and Microsoft365DSC free?
Both are open source. NetData is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Microsoft365DSC under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between NetData and Microsoft365DSC?
NetData is written in Go and Microsoft365DSC in PowerShell. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, NetData or Microsoft365DSC?
Choose NetData if you want the larger community (80,564 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Microsoft365DSC if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.